We live, simultaneously, in two different worlds. Ultimately, we live in the World of Nature, a world that we did not create and the world upon which all life depends. Most immediately, we inhabit a "human world" that we create ourselves. Because our human world is the result of our own choices and actions, we can say, quite properly, that we live, most immediately, in a “political world.” In this blog, I hope to explore the interaction of these two worlds that we call home.

About Me

Gary A. Patton

I was an elected official in Santa Cruz County, California for twenty years, from 1975 to 1995. Now, I am an environmental attorney, practicing law in Santa Cruz County. If you would like to contact me, send me an email at gapatton@mac.com.

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Friday, December 23, 2011

#357 / Ataraxia

My son, Philips, has spent most of the last year undergoing an intensive course of Buddhist training at the Tassajara Zen Center. The picture on the left shows him as he left for Tassajara, earlier this year. He came home the day before yesterday.

The training really is intensive, and physically (as well as spiritually) demanding. Philips reported that it was an accomplishment to have finished the course of training, and that it was "worth the effort." Ultimately, he said, he achieved the goal of being totally present "at the level of the breath." I asked him whether that meant that he had experienced (in my words and metaphor) the sensation of having your finger plugged into a socket of energy that connects you to total joy. He said, "yes." Once you know, through personal experience, that there is such an opportunity to connect to joy, it is possible to experience that again. That would, indeed, be "worth the effort."

As I thought about it, I realized the word for what I was inquiring about is "ataraxia." It's a good word. It's a good thing to experience.